|
Maccabiah
Games Represent Zionism, Israel, Aliya
By
Joel Leyden Ramat Gan , Israel ---- July 7, 2009 ...... It was a sizzling hot summer's day in Israel as thousands of Jewish athletes arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport from around the globe for the 18th Maccabiah Jewish Olympic Games. But inside the Maccabiah headquarters in Kfar Maccabi in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan, all was cool and controlled with an abundance of laughs and smiles. "We
are all family," said Maccabi World Union President Jeanne
Futeran. "Sure, we have many differences, languages and dozens
of challenges with thousands of athletes and their staff arriving.
Jeanne, a South African who first became involved in the 400,000 strong member Maccabi World Union at the tender age of 6, never expected to become President, but says that she is enjoying every moment of it. And it shows. She gently attends to dozens of people who approach her. Some come with a warm handshake while others appear a bit anxious seeking a comfort zone in their new temporary home. Like magic, after a few minutes of speaking with Jeanne, the few problems and anxious faces melt into happy smiles and warm embraces. "The Maccabiah is not all about sport," Futeran says. "It's more about Israel, a love for our land, our people, our heritage, Zionism and turning the young athletes onto making Aliya. Yes, sports and culture are very important, and true, proud and historic traditions of Judaism, but the athletic competition serves as a tool, as a catalyst to bring the global Jewish family together once every four years to Israel. Thousands of young men and women are exposed to the real Israel, a small and thriving democracy with modern cities, long, sandy beaches, beautiful green mountains and magical deserts filled with palm trees and ancient cities." "The
18th Maccabiah Games are without a doubt the most successful Jewish
Olympic Games ever held in Israel," says Futeran. "Despite
a worldwide recession and threats calling for Israel's destruction
from Iran, Jews from the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, France, Holland,
Turkey, Denmark, UK, Argentina, Russia, Ukraine, South Africa
and so many more nations from around the world are showing their
solidarity with the people of Israel and in numbers that we have
never seen before. Inside the Maccabiah headquarters, one will also find a very cool and collected Maccabiah Executive Director, Eyal Tiberger. Holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a pad of paper in the other, Eyal starts his day at sunrise and ends his day near mid-night. His personal assistants Ilana and Smadar always near by, ready to complete dozens of tasks, showing no pressure. Much like a seasoned IDF general, Eyal symbolizes the assets of a true Israeli leader. Going from room to room, delegation to delegation, tackling all issues from the entertainment of the opening and closing ceremonies to making sure that all medical, security and food logistics are complete to greeting hundreds of athletes, coaches and foreign dignitaries. At the entrance to Eyal's office is a white plaque with his name and title and pinned next to it on a small piece of paper is a note that states: "Never take no for an answer. No means yes."
It is this kind of Israeli persistence and confidence that allows Eyal to conquer each and every challenge that gets placed in his path. Always with a soft smile and listening, understanding eyes, he leads a large and diverse civilian Jewish army to victory. For it is not who wins or loses the foot race, the volleyball game or the swimming match, but rather a victory of just being here, participating as brothers in the largest Jewish networking event the world has ever witnessed. The Maccabi World Union was established in 1895 and is one of the longest-standing, continuously-operating Zionist movements, with 400,000 plus members, in 65 countries on 6 continents. In addition to the Maccabiah, (aka "Jewish Olympics) which it stages in Israel every 4 years, MWU is involved in a great many ongoing global initiatives that leverage sporting activity to create Jewish and Israel related educational opportunities. Nirit Harel French, the Executive Director, North America, Maccabi World Union states that the activities are slightly different in each region, based on the needs of each community, however, the goals and methods remain consistent: Jewish continuity and informal education through sports and recreation. "In Israel,
Maccabi is famous for its professional sports teams, including
Euroleague champions, Maccabi Tel Aviv," says Nirit. "However,
we are also involved in a wide range of social action initiatives
and informal educational programs. Our Maccabi Tzair Youth movement
engages tens of thousands of young people in community service
as volunteers, working with youth in the most economically distressed
areas in Israel, and helping to distribute MWU-donated food parcels
over the holidays." Nirit says
that the 18th Maccabiah, MWU's "crown jewel", will take
place in four days and will be an extravaganza unlike any other
seen in Israel or in the Jewish world - including 10,000 athletes
(nearly the same number of athletes as the Olympics, 80-90 percent
of whom have never been to Israel) and drawing some 25,000 tourists
to Israel from nearly 70 countries. "We expect many Jewish, sports, government and other international VIPs at our opening ceremony," says Harel French. "A very beautiful and moving spectacular with over 2,000 performers. For many it is a transformational moment to see this amazing display of Jewish strength and solidarity from around the world, and there is rarely a dry eye in the audience." The 18th Maccabiah Games will be utilizing powerful Web 2.0 social networking to connect in real time with millions worldwide. There are Twitter channels: wmu, maccabi, israelmaccabiah and #maccabiah and two official Facebook groups. A state of the art Web 2.0 Maccabiah Web site is expected to be launched within the next 48 hours.
The above news content was edited and SEO optimized in London and Israel for the Internet by the Leyden Communications Internet Marketing PR SEO Group and London SEO Pr - Israel, London, New York.
Internet
Marketing SEO Professionals ask:
Sponsored by IsraelPr.com Hosted by
|
